<p>I got accepted ED to American U (did the required CSS/Profile) and my offer of aid was a total of 27k with some loans thrown in. However, the total cost of the university is around 50k, and my family can contribute, at maximum with lifestyle changes, $4,000. The rest of my family can do about $5,000 combined. I'm wondering if I can negotiate my offer to a round $30,000, and I've heard of people doing it, but I don't know how. Especially because I applied ED and don't have another offer to compare it to. Any negotiation advice?</p>
<p>Bumping this because it’s really important that I can pay to go, preferably with less loans than the University is expecting me to take.</p>
<p>What was your family’s EFC?</p>
<p>Are you saying that your immediate family can contribute $4k per year and your relatives can give you $5k per year (can you depend on that EVERY school year?)</p>
<p>It sounds like your family’s EFC must be quite high. Did you know that when you applied? Did you know how much they could contribute when you applied ED?</p>
<p>What was the breakdown of your FA package…grants, scholarships, W/S, loans, etc.</p>
<p>(This is why I don’t like ED for families who can’t pay full-freight.)</p>
<p>I’ll never understand who is advising these kids to apply ED to a school they cannot afford.</p>
<p>I was wondering the same thing. Are these kids not finding out their likely EFC’s and how much their families can pay before hand?</p>
<p>I would understand if the student had a really low EFC (or EFC 0) and was applying to Harvard knowing that Harvard provides 100% of need without loans or gaps. However, this sounds like a case where the family has a high EFC (which it can’t pay) and/or the school doesn’t meet need (which it would say on its website).</p>
<p>It’s very unfortunate because many of these kids have high stats and would qualify for good merit awards, but some deadlines have already passed.</p>
<p>I’m wondering who DOESN’T experience a change in lifestyle when they send their kid to college. I know my lifestyle has changed dramatically.</p>
<p>Unless you have another offer that is better that you can present, I doubt you can negotiate a better deal.</p>
<p>Unless you have some special financial circumstance not reflected in the information the school already has then it is unlikely they will come up with a higher package. Special circumstances would be something like major medical bills, loss of job/income/benefits etc.</p>
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<p>I’m confused. If the cost is $50k and your family and extended family can contribute $9000 that leaves $41000, so wouldn’t even an aid increase to $30k leave you $11,000 short?</p>
<p>You can ask them but I would expect them to ask you if there is some change in circumstances. You may have to consider a more affordable school.</p>
<p>Does American U promise to meet full need?</p>
<p>I realize that they are the ones to determine need, and the OP may have had a high EFC, but I was wondering if it’s a full need school.</p>
<p>I don’t believe they do.</p>
<p>^^^</p>
<p>If that’s true, then American should NOT be an ED school. That is just too risky to any student who has need. </p>
<p>I’m guessing that Melie has good stats. He/She would likely have qualified for some good merit scholarships elsewhere, but now has missed many deadlines.</p>
<p>Melie, what are your stats? Weighted GPA, ACT and SAT (including SAT breakdown). You probably are going to have decline this offer and quickly apply to some other schools (including some merit schools).</p>
<p>“Negotiate” implies you’ll bring something to the negotiation table…some give and take. You must be offering something they want, why would they increase their computed aid otherwise. I guess you could ask to make sure there was no mistake. Or, if you have incredible stats, maybe they’ll want to try to keep you? Without another offer to use as a bargaining tool…? And even then - a college can pretty much only do what they calculate they can do. I’ve heard of $1000…not much more. But good luck to ya.</p>
<p>When a school makes an ED offer to a needy student, the school wants the student for academic reasons, as opposed to the other “full list payer” reason. It is not uncommon for a school to make a better offer when given additional information.</p>
<p>“I’ll never understand who is advising these kids to apply ED to a school they cannot afford.”</p>
<p>Sometimes those who think that applying ED to one’s dream school should not be just for the wealthy will give such advice. There’s no downside or risk, other than disappointment, since a student can decline any ED FA offer (so says the Common App ED agreement), and apply RD to other schools as if the ED app had not been submitted.</p>
<p>There is never no downside when applying ED. When applying ED, your mind set is one school only. When you either got rejected, deferred, or cannot attend your ED school due to FA reason, you are in a disadvantages position to switch and apply to other schools. ED shall be for your absolute No. 1 school and not for just gaining some possible acceptance advantage to a very good school that is not your absolute “FIRST CHOICE”.</p>
<p>Meli, you should call the finaid office and lay out your situation, if your parents have said that they can swing this financially if American gives you $3,000 more and they can swing this plus any eventual tuition increase then it makes sense for you to call the finaid office to discuss. Make absolutely sure that the family members and your parents are committed to the costs for all four years before you send accept the package and your admission. Do you have either rolling admission at your state school or other reular applications filed yet with schools that you can afford if you have to turn down the ED offer?</p>
<p>Melie, I also don’t get the numbers. You are still 11K short the way I read your post. Not to mention that the 27K includes loans. How much would you be borrowing each year? I do NOT believe in large student loans for someone who is getting their undergrad degree. Run the numbers and look at what your monthly payment would be when you graduate. You will be surprised. Unless you want to live at home when you graduate, you may find that the loan payments are too much. By the time you pay rent, expenses, auto, etc. you won’t have enough to cover the loans…
I have had employees in this situation. I know what I’m talking about here. Please run the numbers carefully.</p>
<p>“you are in a disadvantages position to switch and apply to other schools”</p>
<p>Why or how, other than the disappointment factor?</p>
<p>Why or how?</p>
<p>I don’t know if any of this is true but I hear:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>You loose the ability or maybe less likely to be able to negotiate. With many offers from other peer schools, you can try to get your first choice school to match or come closer to your best offer.</p></li>
<li><p>You ask to be released from your ED contract. Your first choice school sends out your name to a lot of peer schools and those peer schools may reject you for having done so when you apply RD.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Of course Christian2 the downside to turning down an ED offer is that you are turning down your “favorite/first choice” college, but if a family and the student can’t afford to go there the downside to that is far greater than the downside of the disappointment at that moment or the downside in August of not being able to pay the bill or the downside of starting and having to leave after a semester or a year because of financies. In terms of being disadvantaged in applications, one hopes that ED candidates have applied or will apply to their state system and other rolling admission schools.</p>
<p>*There’s no downside or risk, other than disappointment, since a student can decline any ED FA offer *</p>
<p>The downside I see is that many kids think that they can see if they get accepted, and if they aren’t, then they try to apply to other schools (since most have deadlines after the ED results come out). However, that can cause them to miss out on some scholarship deadlines - which can be as early as mid November.</p>
<p>Yes, kids who don’t understand how the college application process works are at a disadvantage. I’ll grant you that! They really do need to do everything they would normally do if they weren’t applying ED.</p>